


aiming at me, worried 'bout you

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, This story writes itself, be gentle i'm sensitive, be ready for them, but also say something if anything is off, i don't really know what i'm doing in general, i have no control over anything, it's been a hot minute since i've posted anything of my own, more groups are gonna make an appearance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24213415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Why?” Kun’s voice wavered, the word seeming to stick in his throat. “Why would a detective be interested in two young idols?”It felt like everyone in the room held their breath at the same time before Taeyong spoke at last.“Because Renjun and Jisung aren’t an isolated incident. In the last three days, five other idols have gone missing.”ORVarious idols across multiple groups are abducted and no one knows why as well as whether or not they'll see them safe and sound again.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun & Park Jisung
Comments: 32
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1: Park Jisung

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome.
> 
> I don't know what to put here except I'm sorry. One, since there's only one chapter typed out so far, and two, because of what I have typed out.
> 
> My inspiration for this fic was that I wanted to see more Renjun & Jisung one-on-one interactions.
> 
> Also, as a note, to clear things up, I'm not putting any romance in this fic. Only platonic love between the members. Which is something we all need more of.
> 
> I plan to update at least once a week, but we'll see how that goes since I'm terrible with self-enforced deadlines.
> 
> My friend who gets to hear my insane thoughts and comments while writing this will help to peer pressure me into posting.

Jisung had felt off all day, but he knew better than to complain. They were nearly finished with the day's schedule and their manager wasn't known for being sympathetic towards individual members. Jisung could wait until they returned to the hostel before asking for relief.

Dream were in Jeju filming the first ever NCT Life through purely self cam. It was a daring move for a company that often prioritized clean camera work over sincerity, but they had somehow convinced management that it would be worth it. Jisung knew that czennies would eat up the boyfriend look that this NCT Life would end up giving its viewer base.

The last destination of the day was Ginmyoung Maze Park and while normally Jisung would be looking forward to pranking the others in a maze, he doubted if he could since he could barely put one foot in front of the other.

He was wondering how he would be able to keep his bearings in the literal maze when their manager called out to him.

“Jisung, get over here.” Jisung stumbled over to their manager who had turned to call out to Renjun, “You, get over here as well.”

Jisung made a soft noise of surprise when he took a close look at Renjun. The dark circles under Renjun’s eyes and the slight stagger of Renjun’s walk could only be what he imagined he looked like as well.

Their manager placed the back of his hand on first Jisung’s forehead and then Renjun’s before sighing. Glancing at his phone, he rubbed his hand over his face and turned to them.

“You two, go back to the van.”

Renjun’s protests were lost in one of Jisung’s dizzy spells of the day. Jisung could vaguely see Jaemin jogging over to steady him as he swayed in place.

“You can’t make me!” Renjun’s indignant cry broke through Jisung’s haze.

“Renjun!” Their manager’s voice was harsh, “I’m not telling you again. You and Jisung look dead on your feet. What would the fans think if they saw you like this?”

Renjun glowered at their manager but fell silent. He grabbed Jisung’s arm and pulled him roughly away from Jaemin. Jaemin’s offended “hey” was lost in the crunch of gravel under Renjun’s and Jisung’s feet.

“What-” Jisung turned to glance back at Jaemin who was returning to Jeno, Donghyuck, and Chenle. “Where are we going?”

Renjun just snorted and continued pulling Jisung towards the parking lot. “Manager says we’re to return to the hostel now.”

Jisung’s brain finally caught up with the situation. They were cutting their own activities short while the others got to continue having fun. The unfairness of it struck him suddenly and he planted his feet in the gravel. Renjun grunted and whipped around to glare at Jisung.

“That’s not fair!” Jisung cried while yanking his arm away. “Dream isn’t just those four. We should be filming too!”

Renjun sighed and tipped his head back to look at the sky. “Weren’t you listening, Jisungie? Manager says we’re too sick and we’re dragging to mood down.” At Jisung opening his mouth indignantly, Renjun scoffed, “I know, right. As if it’s our fault we caught a rather strong case of the common cold.”

When Renjun pulled at his arm again, Jisung allowed himself to be tugged along. Reaching their idol van, he slid the door open and stumbled to the back of the vehicle. Dropping heavily into a seat, he watched Renjun settle into the seat by the door.

Despite the bitter sting of being left out of group activities just being able to get off of his feet was already helping to curb the edge of nausea that had been creeping up on him all day.

He flinched when their manager opened the driver door and climbed in. He turned to the sullen idols slouching in the back.

“Relax, you two, a full night’s rest will do wonders on this sudden bug.” Neither Jisung nor Renjun deigned giving him a response. “Tomorrow you’ll be able to rejoin the others for the horseback riding which is definitely going to be the highlight of this trip. Would you rather suffer through a maze today or ride horses on the beach?” At their continued silence, their manager sighed. “I’m not changing my decision. I’m taking you two back and then returning for the others.”

Without another word, their manager turned the key in the ignition, causing the van to rumble to life, and pulled out of the parking lot.

Although their manager had a point, Jisung didn’t have to like it. It felt like the universe was conspiring against him. All the other times he could have gotten sick and it decided the perfect time was when they were visiting Donghyuck’s hometown.

Before long the steady vibration of the van was lulling Jisung to sleep. Unfortunately, every time he nearly drifted off a small cough from Renjun would break through the white noise inside the vehicle.

Jisung groaned and tucked his jacket around his ears, shifting in his seat.

Renjun glared at him out of the corner of his eye. His next cough was noticeably more grating and exaggerated.

“Really?” Jisung huffed, peering at Renjun under the brim of his cap.

“You have no room to talk.”

Jisung’s eyes widened. “What does that even mean?”

Renjun chuckled lowly, his bloodshot eyes narrowing. “You have been getting on my nerve all day, and yet you can’t handle a half hour car ride?”

He seemed ready to leave it at that, but Jisung had felt wrong all day and is just itching for a fight. Having it placed right in front of him was too good for him to pass up.

“And, pray tell, Renjun, what is it that I’ve been doing that’s put you on edge.”

There was silence from the boy. Jisung felt his temper rising and proceeded to kick the back of Renjun’s seat.

He felt slightly vindicated when his blow caused a cough to fall from Renjun, but that melted away when he spun around to snap at Jisung.

“That! That’s exactly what I’m talking about!” Renjun’s eyes were narrowed as he hissed at Jisung. “You never respect your hyungs! It drives me insane, all the little digs you make.”

Jisung gaped at Renjun. He could barely believe the boy was making such a big deal out of something that he thought they were over. The older members had made it clear that he could treat them as if they were all same-age friends, yet Renjun clearly felt rankled that Jisung acted as such.

Renjun snorted and turned to face the front again, muttering under his breath.

Jisung, feeling slighted, couldn’t help himself when whispered, “At least I do what I’m supposed to do as an idol.”

“What is that supposed to mean, Park Jisung?” Renjun’s voice was even, calm, but Jisung sensed the anger simmering just under the surface.

“Oh, sorry, hyung, I just said that at least I act like an idol.” At Renjun’s quizzical eyebrow, Jisung continued on. “Oh, it’s just that a certain someone missed more than just a couple of moves in our dance practice today.”

Renjun paused, puzzled for a second, before his gaze cleared up.

“You’re kidding, right? We were just messing around at Hallasan National Park. It wasn’t a real dance practice. Anyways, the fans love it when we good around.”

“If you get complacent with mediocrity that’s all it’s ever going to be.”

Jisung took his dancing seriously at all times and to hear Renjun brush off the numerous mistakes he made as if they didn’t matter rubbed him in a way that nothing else ever did.

Renjun’s jaw dropped in disbelief. The clack his teeth made when shut his mouth was as biting as his next words.

“Fine. FINE.” Renjun’s eyes flashed dangerously and Jisung was suddenly reminded of how sharp Renjun could be when he was cornered. “If we’re going to nitpick every little thing then you need to stop swallowing your raps. They’re not powerful as they should be. I’m a singer and even I know that.”

Renjun knew how much that dig hurt him. He, along with the other members, witnessed how hard Jisung fought to get more lines, always being reduced to only a dancer, not expected to contribute anything else. Alluding that Jisung didn’t deserve his hard-earned lines fed the spark that had been sputtering in Jisung, sending into a roaring blaze.

He learned forward as far as his seatbelt would allow. Renjun released his own seatbelt to meet him halfway, his lips upturned in a cruel smirk. They were both spitting words aiming to wound and Jisung was ready to deliver.

He saw their manager glance in the rearview mirror but didn’t do anything to stop them. Jisung took that as the invitation he needed to continue.

“Well, hyung,” the sarcasm in the word wasn’t lost on Renjun whose fingers twitched before gripping the denim of his jeans tightly, “your movements are too soft. Our choreographies aren’t ballet routines; you need to be stronger and fiercer in your moves. Otherwise, you’ll just fade into the background like always.”

His words had barely left his mouth before a sharp, hardly there laugh left Renjun’s mouth.

“You’re just projecting, Jisung.”

Renjun leaned farther forward to poke at Jisung’s cheek. Jisung smacked away the offending digit, gritting his teeth in anger.

“My dancing is better than yours, Renjun.”

“Everyone and their dog knows that.” Renjun’s hand waved through the space above his head, batting away Jisung’s dig. “I’m talking about your insecurity. Just because you think you don’t deserve your lines and that they may not be as important as Jeno’s and Jaemin’s own lines doesn’t give you the right to half-ass them.”

The blood rushed in his ears at the cruel reality that Renjun laid in front of him. To have him hit the issue right on the head did nothing to abate his anger. Renjun’s smug smirk told Jisung that he thought that he had come out as the winner of their verbal spat.

“No matter what you do, you’ll never be as good a singer as Donghyuck is!”

If he hadn’t seen Renjun’s flinch, his whole body curling in on itself, his eyes growing glassy, Jisung would have thought that he had only just roared those venom filled words in his own mind.

Jisung hesitated, hand raised slightly. He never meant to go as far as he just had, but Renjun’s sharp words and his own discomfort due to his cold made him into something that even he didn’t recognize.

Renjun opened his mouth. Jisung braced for the force of the words that would inevitably spill out of Renjun following Jisung’s strong attack.

Before anything could be said, though, Renjun’s eyes widened wider than Jisung had ever seen them go. He lunged out of his seat to latch onto him, tucking Jisung’s head against his chest and curling around him.

Jisung recoiled from the small body, bringing his hands up to shove Renjun away.

His didn’t get the chance to.

Something with the strength of a thundering stampede struck the side of their van.

Jisung briefly heard their manager cry out before the van scraped against the highway guardrail. With a shrieking that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, the barrier gave away and the van was pushed off the road.

The world tipped sideways and Jisung was weightless for a moment that seemed to last an eternity. He thought for one wild moment, through his fever riddled mind, that he was flying. He came crashing down hard as the side of the van struck the ground. Glass shattered, metal groaned, and then they were rolling.

He couldn’t tell what was up or down anymore. The world spun around him as he fought to keep his bearings.

All Jisung knew were the hands holding him steady, Renjun screaming in his ear, before those too were lost in the chaos.

Had he been given more time to realize what the absence of those hands meant, Jisung would have been terrified, but a hard blow to the head and Jisung knew nothing but black.


	2. Chapter 2: Huang Ren Jun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The nightmare continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so I know I said I was gonna post once a week.
> 
> That didn't happen.
> 
> Don't worry; I will make sure that I update this since it has been posted, but it probably won't be as regular as I originally stated.
> 
> I know myself, so I'm just going to state that right now.
> 
> Also, I realize that this is an NCT fic, but stream Zombie by DAY6. It is a beautiful song.

The boy opened his eyes to see stars twinkling millions of miles away. He could feel grass between his fingers and the scratch of sediment against his cheeks. The hum of a curious insect buzzed in his ear, but he couldn’t find the energy to brush it away.

Every part of him ached, but the incessant throbbing of his left leg cut sharply through all the other pains. The boy’s breath hitched as he choked back a sob.

Something bad must have happened, but his memory is a blank slate. It’s just him, his hurt body, the grass tickling his skin, and the persistent bug.

He contemplated laying here to become one with nature when a new sound broke through his reverie.

A frantic rustling through the grass and the crunch of gravel under shoes grew louder and louder. A voice, high with panic, is screaming for a ‘Renjun.’

The boy shifted his body slightly which sent a bolt of pain shooting through his leg. His cry cut through the night. The bug buzzing at his ear startled away before settling again.

A loud sob catches the boy’s attention. He notices another boy rushing towards him, tears rushing down his face. The boy falls next to his body, hands hovering uncertainly, before lifting his head and placing it ever so gently into his lap.

“Renjun.”

The name falls like a waterfall from the boy’s lips, as he strokes over his hair and down his cheeks, pausing at his split lip.

"You were there and then you weren't. You were holding me and then you were gone. You were just suddenly gone and I didn't even get to be scared because I hit my head and I think I blacked out and then I woke up and you were still gone and I couldn't find you."

The babbling boy doesn't even realize that his words are falling of deaf ears. The boy on the ground is lost trying to connect the pieces of his own scattered memories.

Suddenly, everything comes rushing back.

His name is Renjun.

Jisung is the sobbing boy.

They were heading back to the hostel.

They were just in a car accident.

Accident?

No, the other vehicle hit them on _purpose_.

Renjun grabbed one of Jisung’s hands, gripping tightly. The boy flinched violently before holding onto Renjun just as tight. Renjun moved as if to sit up, but Jisung pushed him back down.

“Hyung, wait, stop, your leg.”

Renjun didn’t listen, but instead pushed aside Jisung’s hands and sat up, positioning his body against Jisung’s own battered form.

“Jisung, where’s the van?”

Jisung blinked, eyebrows wrinkling, his hand rising to point off in the distance behind them.

“Our idol van is over there, but it’s totaled.”

He trailed off at Renjun’s frantic shaking of his head. Renjun held onto Jisung’s hand tightly.

“No, the other van. The one that hit us.”

Renjun remembered how the other van had come out of nowhere, accelerating to a speed far above the local limit, aiming for the back corner of their idol van. The tinted windows had obscured whoever was driving, but anyone whose agenda was to cause a potentially fatal car accident couldn’t be anyone good.

Jisung gaped at Renjun, eyes blown wide, a thin trail of blood running from a cut bordering his hairline. Renjun didn’t even realize that he had lifted his hand until Jisung hisses as he brushes against the injury.

Jisung has never looked as young as he is until this moment. The maknae, normally towering above him, curls into Renjun’s side and muffles a sniffle into his sweater.

“You fucking idiot.”

The two boys tense as an unfamiliar voice, reedy and high-pitched, breaks through the white noise of the evening.

“Oh, like you would have done any better.” A deep gravelly voice snaps back at the first.

Jisung’s head whips up to meet Renjun’s gaze. Renjun frantically shakes his head, finger making a shushing motion, before grabbing Jisung and pulling him lower in the grass.

“You were supposed to just stop the van, not kill us all!”

“So tell me, dipshit, how was I supposed to know the barrier was faulty?”

“Whatever. Just find him. We’re getting paid too much to mess this up.”

Renjun attempts to lower himself and Jisung even lower in the grass, but there’s a shout and the rustling intensifies.

Two strangers appear seemingly out of the darkness. They’re tall and broad and dressed all in black. Balaclavas are pulled low over their faces so only their eyes show.

The first man is short and stocky, built like a tank. The other man is taller and not as wide as the first, but Renjun can see the muscles bulging on his arms.

_Ah, these two villains on a budget must have been driving the van._

Jisung hisses in his ear and Renjun realizes that he spoke aloud.

The shorter of the two, whom Renjun has internally dubbed Brick, lets out a sharp bark of laughter that turns into a cough when the taller, or who Renjun now refers to as Tree, jabs him in the side.

“I’ll grab him and we can go.”

Tree grabs Jisung, holding tight, and hauls him to his feet.

A spike of fear rushes through Renjun when he realizes that he's witnessing Jisung being kidnapped right in front of him. Jisung is silent except for the terror and confusion battling for dominance in his eyes.

Renjun reaches out to pull Jisung back to his side, but Tree places a boot on his chest and pushes him down. His leg gives out beneath him sending him crashing down onto his side, the breath punched out of him.

He can hear Jisung’s shout of indignation, but Renjun can’t see anything past the spots floating across his vision.

“Stop struggling!”

A soft _schick_ and a second later Jisung is quiet. Renjun’s vision clears only to see Tree holding a switchblade to Jisung’s neck. His entire body is trembling and his gaze is locked on Renjun, tears swimming in his eyes.

Tree regards Renjun for a moment before nodding at him, signaling to Brick.

“Get rid of him.”

“NO!” Jisung’s scream cracks in the middle and tears begin to coarse down his cheeks once again. He returns to his frantic struggling, stomping on Tree’s foot, shoving an elbow into his stomach.

Tree, to his credit, doesn’t make a sound, only yanks Jisung’s head back by his hair and presses harder into his neck with the blade. To Renjun’s horror a line of blood begins to trickle into the collar of Jisung’s shirt, staining it crimson.

“Jisung, stop, please!”

Frozen in shock, Jisung’s wide eyes lock onto Renjun.

“Hyung,” he hiccups, “they-”

“I know,” Renjun interrupts, “I’m okay.” He swallows and smiles shakily at Jisung’s horrified look. Jisung opens his mouth, most likely to protest, but Renjun shakes his head sharply.

Brick crouches next to Renjun. Renjun throws a final look at Jisung, silently urging him to look away.

Brick’s gaze is thoughtful as he looks upon Renjun. Renjun only glares at him, snapping at his fingers as Brick reaches out. Brick chuckles lowly, gripping him by his chin, and turns his head back and forth.

Tree huffs, shifting on his feet, Jisung still trapped in his hold.

Brick pulls Renjun to his feet, holding him so his weight is off of his throbbing leg.

“I think we should take him too.”

Tree gapes at Brick, blade falling away from Jisung’s neck. “You’re kidding, right? This is the only one we need.”

“Yeah, well, he’s pretty. Someone will want him.”

Renjun and Jisung exchange equally confused looks. Somewhere in the process, they have lost any sense of what is happening, and this new information is doing nothing to remedy that fact.

“It’s not worth it.” Tree insists.

Brick shrugs, hoisting Renjun up higher. “It would be a waste to kill him.”

Jisung gasps again, arm twitching, aching to reach out and grab Renjun.

Tree groans, tipping his head back. “It’s just one more variable to account for and keep track of.”

“His leg is injured,” Brick taps Renjun’s leg, tilting his head towards Renjun when he lets out a pained gasp. “It’s not like he can go anywhere.”

“Fine!” Tree snaps, “But you’re in charge of him.”

Brick sends Tree a thumbs up, giving what Renjun can only imagine is a smile underneath the balaclava.

The two men, dragging the two young idols alongside them, hike back up the side of the ravine.

Renjun can see their crushed idol van braced against a tree. The vehicle is upside down, part of the roof torn away, the windows all smashed in.

For a brief moment, Renjun thinks of their manager, forgotten about in the chaos. He doesn't even know if the man is alive or not.

Waiting for them at the top of the hill is a rather battered van, not dissimilar to their own idol van, but still right side up. A portion of the passenger side bumper is crumpled and a large scrape down one side shows how the two men rammed their van into Renjun's and Jisung's before scraping the barrier in a desperate attempt to avoid the fate of the idol van.

Brick slides open a door and sets Renjun down on the nearest seat. He pulls out a zip tie and looks at Renjun expectantly.

He scoffs. “You must be crazy if you think I’m going to let you restrain me with that.”

“You will if you want this one to stay safe.” Tree is on the other side zip tying Jisung’s wrists together. He throws a loaded look at the zip tie in Brick’s hand. “Well?”

Renjun glare could singe a flame but silently holds his hands out in front of him. The plastic is cold against his skin and pinches uncomfortably tight when Brick pulls it closed.

Brick has the decency to buckle his seat belt and crosses the van to do the same for Jisung. He slides the doors closed and climbs into the driver’s seat.

If anyone were around at the time, they would have heard the van rumble to life, seen a short burst of smoke expunged from the tail pipe, before the vehicle pulls quickly away to return from where it came.

As it was, there was no one to witness it, and therefor witness two members of one of Korea’s top boy groups being abducted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please support George Floyd's family during this time by signing this petition.
> 
> It takes less than two seconds, you can choose for your name not to be revealed and it's completely free:
> 
> https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd?signed=true
> 
> I can only imagine what they must be feeling right now.
> 
> Remember: the only difference between doing good and doing bad is whether or not you stay silent and complacent during injustice.


	3. Chapter 3: Na Jaemin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *makes jeno have pink hair*
> 
> Me: i'm wishing this into existence
> 
> Listen to "Islands" by Super Junior. It's arguably one of their best songs to date.

“The least he could’ve done is let us know that he was going to stay with Renjun and Jisung.”

Jaemin closed his eyes, bumping his head against the cool glass of the taxi window.

He and the others had waited for their manager to return for them. After nearly half an hour passed after the agreed upon pick-up time, Jeno had attempted to call him. After failing to get through to him twice, Donghyuck tried calling Renjun while Chenle rang Jisung. Silence greeted all of them when their calls went straight to voicemail.

A tendril of apprehensive had taken hold in Jaemin. He hoped that the two sick boys hadn’t taken a turn for the worse causing everything to be abandoned in order to care for them.

“I mean, really, leaving four young high-profile idols stranded in a foreign place?” Donghyuck whined to Jeno more, his fingers carding through Chenle’s hair who had sunk into Donghyuck’s side, exhaustion prevalent in the young teen.

“His phone probably just died, Duckie,” Jeno reasoned, “And we weren’t stranded. That employee called a taxi for us and all of our phones are still charged. Besides you're from Jeju; it's not a foreign place to you.”

Donghyuck sniffed. “Still, Manager is paying for this taxi ride.”

Chenle giggled softly, rubbing his cheek against Donghyuck’s shoulder, teal hair falling in a curtain over his eyes.

Jaemin stifled a yawn and turned to their taxi driver.

The man had seemed a little shell shocked when he realized who he was picking up. After stuttering out a greeting, introducing himself as Jun Tae, he had shyly asked for autographs. Apparently, he had a young son who was the biggest fan of Dream, especially Chenle. As if Chenle had needed another reason to inflate his already rather large head, he had turned to the other three, a smug to rival a grand prize winner adorning his face.

Their driver had been content to listen to the young idols’ tirades, smiling softly at their banter. At this moment, though, a small frown littered his face. He was peering intently through the front windshield, mouth forming silent words.

Easing up on the gas, the car slowed to a meander. Chenle squawked, his head slipping off of Donghyuck’s shoulder as Donghyuck leaned forward, poking his head into the front of the car.

“Why are we stopping?” He jabbed at Jaemin’s shoulder, fending off Jaemin’s retaliated slap, “We’re not at the hostel yet.”

Jaemin had already seen what their driver had. The tendril that had been festering inside him grew to a raging wildcat, straining to burst free.

Glass and metal glimmered faintly on the road and a gaping hole in the guardrail lay straight ahead. Jaemin didn’t even know that a barrier could break like that. It didn’t instill much trust for something that was supposed to protect vehicles from going over the side.

Jun Tae pulled to a stop, shifting gears into park, and turned to look at Jaemin in the passenger seat.

“This will just take a moment. I’m going to call this in.” Jun Tae waved his phone gently, “You and the others stay in the car, please, it could be dangerous.”

“Donghyuck’s already gone”

Jaemin whipped his head around, his neon hair so orange that it nearly pains him to look at, to glare at Jeno who shrugged, pointing outside of the car where, sure enough, Donghyuck was swinging a length of metal around like a baseball bat.

“And you didn’t think to stop him?”

“You could sooner stop a black hole from devouring everything in its path.” Jeno’s eyes turned up into the endearing crescents moons that always appear whenever he smiled big. “May as well join him.”

Chenle scrambled to be the next one out of the car, fatigue forgotten in the prospect of a sword fight.

Jun Tae turned to look at Jaemin who could only offer him a sideways smile for an answer. Jaemin slid out of his seat into the brisk nighttime air. Glass crunched under his heels, the fragments glittering in the dark.

Chenle’s dolphin shriek caught his attention and turned just in time to see Donghyuck throwing a length of metal like a javelin, yelling "En Garde, you Egg!" Luckily it missed the boy and went sailing over the barrier to disappear into the ravine.

Normally Jaemin would participate in the antics, more often than not he was the one to initiate the chaos, but he felt off, uneasy, and couldn’t bring himself to join in.

He drummed his fingers on the top of the barrier, mind wandering back to the two sick boys separated from them. He hoped they were deep in slumber, resting from their exhausting day.

A lopsided shape at the bottom of the hill caught his eye and he squinted to see it better.

His stomach felt like it fell all the way to the earth’s core.

“Guys.”

His voice was barely more than a whisper. The other three, currently lost in trying to bash the other two first, couldn’t have hoped to have heard him.

The world began to spin around Jaemin, his knuckles whitening as his hold on the guardrail tightened in a desperate attempt to stay upright. He can't hear anything but the blood rushing in his ears.

“GUYS!”

Jaemin can feel his whole body trembling, his earring bouncy gently off his neck.

“Jaemin?” Jeno is quiet, the deep timber of his voice grounding him more than the guardrail. “What’s wrong?”

Jaemin points down into the ravine, the dark silhouette at the bottom captivating him.

“Is that-” He swallows clumsily, “Is that our idol van?”

The silence that follows his question is so dense that he swears he could cut it into pieces. There’s a sharp clang, the thumping of several pairs of feet against the asphalt, and three bodies are suddenly pressed against his own.

“Hey, everyone, back in the car.” Jun Tae calls out for them, his phone call finished. “Time to go- What’s wrong?”

His words fall on deaf ears. Before the man can do anything, Jeno is leaping through the gap and sliding down the hill. A single second is all that passes before Jaemin and the other two are following after Jeno.

Jaemin skids on gravel and nearly falls, scraping his hand along the ground, before righting himself, jumping slightly, and overtaking Jeno.

Jun Tae is shouting for them before cutting off shortly. Jaemin can only infer that he has also seen the wreckage that was once their idol van.

Their idol van that was carrying precious members.

Their idol van that is currently upside down in a ditch.

Jaemin dashes over to the side of the van and yanks on the door. It’s stuck shut, refusing to open, and Jaemin wants to cry. Donghyuck shoves him aside, more rough than he would normally be, but desperation has taken hold on all of them.

Chenle is crying, his tears shining brightly in the moonlight. “ _G_ _ē_ _, what happened?”  
_

The boy hasn’t even realized he reverted to Mandarin and is staring at Jaemin, expecting a response to a question Jaemin can’t answer.

“Renjun! Jisung!” Jeno’s voice is booming. He’s searching around the van, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“ _G_ _ē_ _!”_ Chenle yells, reaching through the driver side window. He withdraws his hand sharply and Jaemin can see his crimson fingers. “ _It’s Manager, he’s hurt.”_ Chenle inhales deeply, his tears somehow increasing in number. “ _He’s hurt real bad.”_

“Ahjussi!” Jaemin screams for Jun Tae who remained up on the road. “Ahjussi! Call 119! Quickly!”

Jun Tae fumbles for his phone and disappears from view. Jaemin can only hope he’s calling for an ambulance. Their manager’s life may very well be in the hands of one taxi driver far out of his depth.

Jaemin takes a few steps back, the impending signs of a migraine growing. His head is pounding and the world is spinning once again.

He nearly falls when his foot slides out from under him. A slim device clatters away from him.

Jaemin sobs and bends to pick up Jisung’s lonely phone. The screen is shattered, worse than when Jeno elbowed it, the cracks spider webbing across the entire thing and the back hanging on by a few pieces of the inner workings.

Clutching it to his chest, he finds his voice and screams, one long drawn out wail.

“Jaemin!” Donghyuck’s eyes are watery, his pupils blown wide and dark. His hair, a bright aquamarine, is tousled and sticking up into the air. “Stay calm! We need to find Renjun and Jisung.”

“It’s no use.”

Jaemin and Donghyuck flinch at Jeno’s words. Donghyuck swipes at Jeno, blow landing heavily.

“What the fuck, Jeno?”

Jeno shakes his head, staring into the distance. “We won’t find them. They’re not here. I’ve already looked.” He sniffles, rubbing his nose.

Jaemin startles at the image of Jeno in front of him. He doesn’t remember the last time he’d seen Jeno cry, yet the tears have broken through the dam and no one, least of all Jeno himself, can stop them.

“They’re gone?” Donghyuck's tiny voice is muffled, his sweater clad hand trying to hide the quaver. “How are they just gone?”

Jeno shakes his head, hair as pink as spun cotton candy, swishing gently through the air.

“ _Everyone! Listen!”_

Chenle’s voice cuts through their distress and they all snap their heads around to stare at the young teen. He has his head tilted to the side, listening intently.

For one brief moment, Jaemin convinces himself that Chenle heard Renjun and Jisung, but then he hears it as well; the distant wail of a siren growing louder by the second.

“Jaemin? What are you holding?”

Jaemin turns to Jeno, extending a trembling arm, and opens his hand, showing Jisung’s destroyed phone balanced on his palm.

Jeno’s breath hitches. He reaches into the front pocket of his hoodie and pulls out an equally battered phone.

Renjun’s phone.

Jaemin can remember like it was yesterday; how elated Renjun was when he snapped his brand new Moomin case onto his phone. He had tossed his scratched sunflower yellow case at Jaemin, reveling in the way it had bounced off his forehead, leaving a small pink mark.

The cartoon animal was now crusted in grime and a chunk of the corner was clean gone. The phone’s screen was bent. Jaemin didn’t even realize a phone could warp like that.

It isn’t until Jeno grips his shoulders and pulls him close that Jaemin even realizes he’s hyperventilating. He can see Jeno’s lips moving, but Jaemin can only hear his own breathy gasps.

His knees buckle and he crashes to the ground, and Jeno, who refused to let go, gets pulled along with him.

Jaemin thinks that he might just pass out when a fluorescent arm spins him around. An EMT places her hands over his ears and tilts his head back. He’s gasping, wondering what she intends to do with him.

She waits until he makes eye contact with her and she nods encouragingly, her mouth moving slightly under her mask with what Jaemin can only imagine is a gentle smile.

He suddenly realizes that her eyes are two different colors; her left one is a deep brown like the earth after it's rained and the other is the color of melted caramel. He’s never seen anything like it before and he pauses in his distress.

The EMT nods again and moves one hand to the back of his neck. The other one she holds in front of his face, her fingers spread wide.

“Sir, my name is Eun Ji, okay, listen to me. When I lower my fingers into a fist, I want you to breathe in tandem with them. When I unfurl my fingers, I want you to breathe out in tandem with them. Are you ready?”

Jaemin dips his head and the EMT curls her fingers in. Jaemin’s breath stutters as he tries to follow her directions, but it's hard to slow down to the pace she's set. The EMT is patient and gentle with him, though, and he finds that his breathing is evening despite his worries.

Small circles are being rubbed into the side of his neck by her thumb and Jaemin can feel his body responding to her instructions. His breathing evens and the dizziness that nearly overtook him fades to a slight twinge.

“Good job." The EMT lowers her hand to his own. “Why don’t we stand up, okay?”

She lifts him with an ease surprising Jaemin when he realizes that when standing she falls nearly a foot shorter than him.

Eun Ji tugs his hand gently, nodding off to the side, and a second hand grabs his free hand. Jaemin glances over to see Jeno, concern written clearly across his face. Together, Jeno and Eun Ji guide him up the side of the ravine.

Reaching the top, Jaemin catches Chenle and Donghyuck climbing into the back of an ambulance before the doors close abruptly.

“Hey!” Jaemin breaks away from Jeno and Eun Ji and dashes after the departing vehicle.

“Jaemin, wait!” Jeno yanks on Jaemin’s sweatshirt. “It’s okay. They’re riding with Manager. We’ll meet them at the hospital.”

Eun Ji steers Jaemin towards another ambulance, Jeno trailing after like a lost puppy.

Jaemin trips getting into the vehicle, his knee banging against the bumper, and he knows that it will be an ugly bruise later. The flurry of curses that fall from his mouth send the EMT into a peel of laughter.

Her glee at his pain actually seems to help ground him for Jaemin feels more like himself than he has all evening. Jeno pulls him the rest of the way into the ambulance, setting him onto the gurney.

“Aha!” Eun Ji turns around. “Hold out your hands, you two.”

She presses a plastic wrapped candy into each of their palms.

Jaemin reads the tiny print on the label. “Ginger candy?”

“It’s for the bad taste in your mouth. Panic does some weird things to your senses.”

Jeno glances at Jaemin, eyebrow crooked, but unwraps his own sweet and pops it into his mouth. His eyes widen and he gestures to Jaemin’s candy.

Jaemin doesn’t see how a piece of hard candy will help anything, but Jeno sure seems to think that it does and when has Jeno ever lead him wrong?

The candy is spicy and tingles on his tongue, and Jaemin is pleasantly surprised. A putrid taste that he didn’t even realize was present is smothered up by the sweet.

The EMT closes the doors to the ambulance and knocks on the far side of the bed of the vehicle. The van rumbles to life and pulls away.

“Don’t worry about your taxi. Your driver said he would call the company and explain everything.”

Jaemin blinked at the EMT. He swung to face Jeno who looked equally startled. It seemed the thought of Jun Tae had been expunged from their minds during their panic.

The rhythmic swaying of the ambulance set Jaemin at ease, but he couldn’t help but think of his two missing group mates.

If Manager was so injured from the crash that he was unconscious in the van, why weren’t Renjun and Jisung there as well?

If they weren’t in the van, and they weren’t anywhere around the van, where could they possibly be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone plans to go and protest, please be careful.
> 
> Make sure to wear a mask for health and anonymous reasons, don yourself in baggy clothes that you wouldn't normally wear (and then make sure to not wear them again until after protests to avoid being recognized), bring first aid kits and milk in backpacks for ease of use, make sure to look out for one another and don't get separated, keep an eye out for undercover cops wanting to start violence.
> 
> If it comes to this and you're able to, a way to dispose of a gas canister is simple in theory. Bring gloves and a metal water bottle. Wearing the gloves to protect against the hot metal, place the canister in the water bottle and douse the flames with the water. I sorely hope it doesn't come to this, but it's better to be prepared.
> 
> Any non-p.o.c., use your privilege to shield others. Unfortunately, it's been proven that cops go easy on white protestors.
> 
> Try to record as much as you can, but NEVER post any photos or videos of protestors without blocking them out entirely. Failure to do so will place them and their loved ones in more danger.
> 
> If you aren't able to go and protest in person, follow this link- https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ -which provides resources for other forms of support.
> 
> Please please please stand up for what is right.


	4. Chapter 4: Ten (Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am again with an update!
> 
> This chapter sort of took on a life of its own.
> 
> As always, I appreciate any feedback that you have.
> 
> Regular song recommendation: check out "Always" by Yu SeungWoo.

He was there when Chenle called Kun.

WayV were in the middle of one of their many ridiculous games. This time it was the classic ‘high note battle’ and Ten wasn’t about to lose. Taking a deep breath, ready to abandon his dignity for the right to call himself victor, Kun’s phone had wrung, a pleasant tune cutting through everyone’s mirth.

Kun’s face had lit up, a toothy grin spreading widely, and he quickly lifted the device to his ear.

“Hey, Chenle, what’s-” Kun was cut off by the boy’s babbling, his smile fading. “Chenle, you need to slow down. Tell me what’s wrong.”

A beat later and Ten watched as all the blood drained from his best friend’s face leaving him a ghostly pale, his eyes nearly bugging out of his face.

“Gē?” Xuxi, ever the tenderhearted, was the next to notice their leader’s distress _. “_ Gē, is everything okay?”

Kun simply held up a hand, halting any further questions, and sat down heavily on the couch.

“I understand, yes, okay, just stay with the others. No!” Kun’s voice was harsh, startling the other members into noticing that something was up. “I forbid you to go out looking. I’ll be there soon.”

Ten’s eyebrows hit his hairline. WayV were in the middle of promoting their newest mini album. They still had at least another week before they could relax into activities that weren’t rigidly scheduled.

A soft touch at his elbow and he turned to see Yangyang toss a curious glance towards Kun. All he could do was shrug and return his gaze to Kun who had finished talking with Chenle.

Kun startled to see all six of them crowded around him, their eyes boring into his.

“Well,” sighed Kun, running his fingers through his hair, the locks somehow still soft after being bleached into oblivion before shocked to a pristine white, “I have to go on an impromptu trip to Korea.”

He made to get off the couch, but Ten pushed him back. Kun’s mouth opened into an ‘o’, shocked at the shove.

“Excuse me?” Ten placed a hand on his hip, cocking his head to the side and lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t get to say that and then just walk away.”

“There’s been a-” Kun frowned, forehead wrinkling, “a situation. Chenle needs me there.”

“What’s wrong with Chenle?” Sicheng’s deep timber piped up.

“There’s nothing wrong with Chenle.”

“But you just said that there’s a situation.” This time it’s Xuxi who argued.

“Yes, but-”

“I’m going with you.” Ten interjected.

“Ten, no-”

“Me too.”

“Sicheng-”

Xuxi, not one to be left out, chimed in with a “Count me in as well.”

“No!” Kun snapped. He stood suddenly, pushing at Xuxi who blocks his way. “No one is going but me! You all need to stay and finishing promotions.”

“And what are we supposed to tell the fans?”

Dejun’s quiet voice surprised Ten. He had forgotten that the other three were still in the room, not quite content to leave, but out of place enough to not chime in. At least until now.

“Yeah, gē.” Yangyang threw an arm around Dejun and Kunhang, pulling them to his sides. “When the fans ask where you are, and you know they will, what do we tell them?”

Kun’s eyes were blown wide, staring at the youngest, his mouth opening and closing like a dying fish.

“’There was a situation in Korea’ isn’t going to cut it and you know it, gē.” Kunhang’s mouth is pulled down, not quite a frown but far from a smile. “Please don’t shut us out.”

A rattling gasp fell from Kun and then he’s laughing.

And then crying.

All six of them bounce off of each other as they all rushed to comfort their leader. Together, they sank to the floor, tangled in one another.

“Kun,” Ten whispered into his friend’s hair, “what is really going on?”

“Renjun and Jisung. They’re missing.” Kun gasped out. Ten could feel Sicheng and Xuxi stiffen in the pile. “They and the Dream manager went back early to their hostel from a schedule because they were sick while the others stayed to finish. The manager never returned to pick up the other four, so they took a taxi. But they stopped at a broken guardrail and found their idol van upside in the ditch.”

Xuxi’s cursing caused someone to jolt and elbow Ten in the gut. He wheezed but caught the next part of Kun’s admission.

“They took the manager to the hospital. He’s in critical condition as we speak.”

“And Renjun and Jisung?” Yangyang’s voice was quiet and he reached out to brush Kun’s cheek.

Kun trembled and leaned into the soft touch. “I don’t know. They weren’t at the crash site and they haven’t shown up. Their phones were destroyed and left behind.”

“Well, that settles it, doesn’t it?” Ten would applaud himself for how steady his voice appeared had he not felt like a house of cards, ready to collapse at the slightest breath.

Kun’s swollen face twisted in confusion, his hand reaching out to grasp at Ten’s. Sicheng nodded emphatically and shot a glance at Xuxi who nodded once, stare fierce and resolute.

“We’re coming with you, Kun,” Ten continued, lifting a hand to stop Kun from interrupting, “If you were in our place, you wouldn’t want to be left behind after being told something like this. Besides, they’re our brothers too.”

WayV’s leader chuckled, wiping at his eyes and swiping away the tears. “You always have to be right, don’t you? Fine. Fine! But I leave in five minutes, with or without you.”

The others perked up and shot each other triumphant grins, scrambling to their feet and dashing to their rooms to pack.

“What about management?” Ten despaired at the thought of their strict manager, knowing that he surely isn’t going to let them just jet off to Korea while in the middle of a busy schedule.

Kun just smirked and headed towards his own shared room. “As wise men say, they can suck my ass.”

Ten realized belatedly that Kun means to sneak away without informing anyone of the decision beforehand, consequences be damned.

Ten thinks that he has never been prouder of the other until this moment.

* * *

It seemed like it was just a few moments ago that they were all scrambling about trying to pack, but suddenly the seven idols are crammed on a cheap red-eye flight to Seoul. None of the other passengers are in any state of wakefulness to recognize them and Ten revels in the anonymity that’s hard press to find nowadays.

“Thank you.”

Kun’s voice is quiet, his head pillowed on Ten’s shoulder.

“For what?”

“For just being you.” Kun sits up fully to look Ten straight in the eyes. “I was on the verge of a complete breakdown back at the dorm, but you pulled me back.”

“Anyone would have collapsed at receiving news like that, though.”

Kun shakes his head and rests against Ten again. “But I’m the leader, Ten, I have to be the pillar of the group.”

He scoffs, delighted in the sharp look he gets from Kun. “You’re not an unbreakable pillar, Kun. Besides you’re more like a mom.”

Kun groans. “Don’t start that again.”

“I’m being serious, though. Being a mom is tough. Not that I’d know personally, but I have a mom and so do you.” Ten chuckles in mirth. “You’ve seen what a mom is capable of; they’re jack-of-all-trades. But sometimes moms just get so overwhelmed. They need others to help whether it be a spouse. Or six other members.”

Kun is quiet. Ten waits for a response from the man, but he only breathes hotly against his shoulder. He startles, realizing that Kun has fallen asleep. It only proves how stretched thin their leader has been that the moment he has a chance to relax he falls unconscious.

“You didn’t even hear my whole speech, did you?” Ten sinks into his uncomfortable plan seat, resting his head atop of Kun’s. “Everything will be fine.”

* * *

Pain is what greets Ten’s re-entrance to awareness.

He doesn’t remember falling asleep, but at the plane’s touchdown, Kun jolts awake, startled, and their heads collide with a solid smack.

“Oh, that’s gonna smart.” Yangyang winces from across the aisle.

“Shut up, you brat.” Kun grumbles, rubbing at his skull. "You've got drool on your chin."

Yangyang flushes and rubs frantically at the dry spittle.

The plane taxis slowly into the terminal and locks into the jet bridge. One by one, the tired passengers filter off, scattering to whatever business they have in the middle of the night.

Before calling for a cab, they make a short detour at a java kiosk so that everyone can be well-caffeinated. Their driver raises an eyebrow at the seven disheveled young men clambering into his vehicle but accepts their payment without question and sets off.

The lights outside blur together, a faint drizzle of rain painting a beautiful portrait, and Ten wonders at how a city can still be so alive and bustling despite it being nearly three in the morning, but a city the size of Seoul just never truly sleeps.

He is pulled out his reverie by the slight touch to his hand. Ten starts as he realizes the cab is parked outside the NCT dorm.

Sicheng grins at him, anticipation lighting up in his eyes. The younger is almost bouncing in his seat, urging Ten to open the door. Ten grins at the boy. He can also relate to the excitement at seeing the others again.

Ten wouldn’t trade WayV for the world, but he would be a liar if he said he hadn’t missed the others he trained with for years before debut.

He slides out of the vehicle and joins Xuxi and Kunhang who are busy removing their bags from the trunk. He hears Kun’s quiet thanks to the cab driver before the taxi pulls away from the curb.

“Get inside!” Kun hisses. “We don’t need to be seen by any overly ambitious tabloids.”

Kun punches in the code to the dorm and herds them all inside the dry building, shaking out his hair, ushering them deeper inside away from any prying eyes.

A figure seems to just melt out of the shadows. Dejun yelps at the sudden appearance and jumps behind Xuxi, pulling Kunhang and Yangyang with him.

Ten is moving before his tired brain even fully registers who the man is. He takes a flying leap and crashes into Johnny, trusting one of his oldest friends not to let him fall.

Johnny laughs and lifts him up off his feet, spinning him around once, which is all he gets before Kun, Xuxi, and Sicheng slam into them. Sicheng is giggling and Xuxi is pounding his fist against Johnny’s shoulder. Kun has buried his face in Johnny’s chest, and if Ten looks closely he can see the slight wet patch on Johnny’s sweatshirt.

Johnny extracts himself from the tangle of limbs, patting them all on the back in turn. He gestures for the other three who have relaxed significantly to come closer. They may not know Johnny personally but from the dozens of stories the other four have told, they know that he is nothing except for a gentle giant.

Johnny pulls them into a quick but solid hug, the others all but disappearing into his embrace.

“It’s nice to formally meet you three.” Johnny’s voice is a breath of fresh air for Ten. “I wish it was under better circumstances. The others are waiting in the living room.”

The severity of the situation lays heavily over all of them. Kun straightens up, grabbing his bag where he had abandoned it, and marching ahead.

Ten scrambles to keep up, shoving his own bag into Johnny’s arms, and rushes ahead to walk at Kun’s side. His leader glances at him, a smile smiling curling his lip upward and bumping their shoulders together, before giving the tiniest of knocks on the door behind which everyone waits.

It opens immediately to reveal Mark whose eye bags are darker and deeper than Ten has ever seen them before. The boy can’t hide his grin, though, and pulls them into a crushing hug before releasing them and opening the door wider.

Bodies are scattered across the room. Some are lounging on couches and chairs while there is a pile of boys tangled together on the floor. All the idols seem as if the weight of the world is solely theirs to bear; as if they're Atlas punished to carrying that burden for eternity.

Donghyuck is pressed so tightly against Taeil that Ten isn’t entirely sure where one body ends and the next begins, the boy sniffling in his sleep.

Taeyong’s head is placed in Doyoung’s lap who is slowly carding his fingers through his hair, removing any tangles in the goldenrod locks, soothing the sleeping figure.

Jungwoo lifts his head from the floor to toss a happy smile to the newcomers, but Jeno and Jaemin’s unconscious bodies are dead weights pinning him down.

Jaehyun walks in from the kitchen carrying a tray laden with water glasses, mandarins, and a bowl of shrimp chips for the tired WayV members. Ten gives a small wave and gets a dimpled smile in return.

A blur of teal hair is all the warning they get before a figure crashes into Kun causing both bodies to stumble out of the room. Chenle is sobbing, silently this time, nose pressed into the place where Kun’s neck meets his shoulder. Kun buries his nose in the boy’s hair, whispering reassurances too soft for Ten to catch.

Yuta, who had been watching the doorway behind Ten, suddenly shouts and leaps up. He smiles his widest toothy grin and opens his arms. For one moment, Ten thinks Yuta means for him to hug him, but then he is unceremoniously pushed aside.

For someone who is known for being reluctant in regard to skinship of any kind, Sicheng all but tackles Yuta from the force of his embrace. Their giggling is the wake-up call that the room needed.

Taeyong shoots upright from his reclined position, nearly smacking his head into Doyoung’s chin, a line of drool trailing from his mouth. Jungwoo grunts as the two boys on his chest use him as a springboard to push themselves into a sitting position. Taeil cups Donghyuck’s cheek in his hand and whispers something soft into his ear. The boy whines and stretches along the man before sitting up fully.

“How was your flight?”

Taeyong’s voice is gravelly from sleep and he blinks a few times to clear the drowsy haze from his mind.

“It was great!” Xuxi’s chimes in, his volume level far too loud for being right by Ten’s ear. “No one recognized us, so we got to relax.”

Taeyong’s smile is small, tired, but he stands to pull Xuxi down into a hug. Jungwoo, never one to miss his chance, wiggles his way into their arms, giggling all the way.

Ten realizes that Yangyang, Dejun, and Kunhang are hovering in the doorway right behind him, and he steps aside, beckoning them in.

“Oh!” Yangyang’s face brightens as he spots Jaemin and darts over to give his estranged friend a quick hug and a slight nod to Jeno who seems hesitant to intrude on the reunion.

Mark tugs Dejun and Kunhang farther into the room, not wanting them to feel left out. They’re followed by Kun and Chenle, the boy unwillingly to release his tight hold on his gē’s hand, with Johnny bringing up the rear.

Taeyong takes in the crowd standing in the living room. “Thank you all for flying out on such short notice.”

“Well, we could hardly stay away after learning about Renjun and Jisung.” Kun sits down in a recliner and pulls Chenle into his lap, the boy immediately curling into the smallest ball that he can.

“What happened?” Sicheng chimes in from Yuta’s side, oblivious to the tiny grip the older has on his shirt.

Jaehyun shrugs, the hood on his sweatshirt falling off to reveal his cobalt bedhead. “No one knows yet. Manager is still unconscious, but thankfully stable, and he’s the only one who can truly tell us what happened.”

“But why would two idols go missing?” Kunhang looks a bit alarmed at everyone turning to look at him, his hand seeking Dejun’s for comfort.

Ten doesn’t miss the rapid glance that flits between the eldest three.

“What is it?” Apparently Kun didn’t miss the secretive exchange either. “What aren’t you telling us?”

Taeyong sighs, rubbing a hand over his brow. Doyoung grips his shoulder, squeezing tightly, giving him a wondering glance.

“We wanted to wait until you all arrived.” Taeyong pauses, looking to Johnny and Taeil again. “When Donghyuck called me in a panic at the hospital, Johnny, Taeil, and I immediately departed to go to them.”

Donghyuck peels himself away from Taeil and flops down onto Taeyong. Their leader grunts but pulls at the boy, tucking him up against his body, rubbing a comforting hand down the boy’s side.

“When we arrived at the hospital, Manager was still in surgery, but the boys had been checked over. Except for shock, they were alright.”

“We were about to leave with them when the detective arrived.” Johnny takes over, nodding at Taeyong who sank back into the sofa, resting his head on the crown of Donghyuck’s head. “She introduced herself as Detective Yoon Jiu. Her department had assigned her to an ongoing case.”

Ten felt a coil of icy fear unfurl in his stomach. He didn’t like the way this story was headed.

“She had some questions about the missing boys.” Taeil’s soft voice piped up from the side. Never before has the eldest member looked as old as he does at this moment. “She wanted to know if anything strange had occurred to them or around them recently.”

“Why?” Kun’s voice wavered, the word seeming to stick in his throat. “Why would a detective be interested in two young idols?”

It felt like everyone in the room held their breath at the same time before Taeyong spoke at last.

“Because Renjun and Jisung aren’t an isolated incident. In the last three days, five other idols have gone missing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep supporting the BLM movement however you can.
> 
> Here are some tumblr links to useful info:
> 
> https://greekgods.tumblr.com/post/619659812311007232/ways-to-help-protestors-if-you-are-unable-to
> 
> https://valleydean.tumblr.com/post/619691950940045312


	5. Update

I'm sorry to those who have been supportive and patient with me.

I'm going to orphan this fic.

I just don't have the inspiration or drive for this fic anymore. I only had a vague idea of what I wanted to do with it to begin with, and now I'm at a loss on what to do with the story.

The fic has been giving me stress with the knowledge that I have this out there, so I would rather orphan it and move on.

I'm also just not comfortable anymore writing fics about real people even though it's fiction and they would never see it.

There's not a whole lot here, but anyone can do with it as they like.

Thanks a bunch to those who gave me kudos and comments. It really means a lot to me that people enjoyed the little bit that I managed to create and share.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll change/add tags as I see fit as the fic progresses. I only have some things planned out, so you as the reader and I will both get to see how this evolves.
> 
> Other idols/groups will make an appearance, but I haven't figured out when or how or why, so I won't tag those yet.
> 
> I also tend to type and upload way late at night/early in the morning, so there will probably be mistakes that I missed and need to fix.
> 
> Please comment. I need to know people's initial reaction to this.


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